


A Moment of Rest

by TwinConstellations



Category: Claymore
Genre: Deneve just wants some god damn peace and quiet, F/F, Helen is a disaster of a human being, Post-Canon, Slice of Life, alas, she's in love with a hurricane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 21:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8911834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinConstellations/pseuds/TwinConstellations
Summary: All Deneve wanted to do was read her book. Was that too much for a child-soldier-turned-war-hero to ask for?





	

**Author's Note:**

> I blame Kris for everything. They drew the picture that inspired this.

All Deneve wanted to do was read her book.  She didn’t think she was asking for too much.

Since the fall of the Organization, no new Yoma had been appearing on the continent, and thanks to the work of the Slayers and the now-free warriors, the monstrous population was shrinking quickly. With an excess of freetime where there had been none before, many of the warriors had picked up hobbies. Deneve, who had always loved to read, had made it a ritual to find at least one quiet hour every day to lose herself in whatever book she had on her.

Finding books, especially in a city like Rabona, was an easy task.

Finding some god damned peace and quiet? Impossible.

The house she shared with Helen, Clare, and Dietrich never boasted more than two minutes of blessed silence, even at night. The noise wasn’t even (entirely) Helen’s fault! The blame rested squarely on the fuzzy head of the  _ massive _ dog that had decided to follow Dietrich home after an Awakened hunt. To this day Deneve didn’t know what possessed her to tell the younger warrior she could keep the beast; she suspected witchcraft.

Or the combined adorableness of Helen and Dietrich’s pouts.

...No, definitely witchcraft.

She’d tried hiding on the rooftops next, sheltered from the sun by the shadow of the church. But many of the warriors who now called Rabona home used the roofs as a faster means of travel, bypassing the crowded streets below, and many would stop to ask her about the schedule for the next Hunt, the location of the other Ghosts, lessons on dual-wielding-Deneve would have been better off with the dog.

Rachel and Audrey’s house had been her next attempt. The bonded warriors spent most of their time away from the city, helping to control the bandits that had become more active since the fall of the Organization. They’d chosen a small house near the city wall, just big enough for the two of them, with a small garden off to the side that Rachel enjoyed working in.

It was the perfect secluded spot for Deneve to read, and the pair had no problem letting her hide away there when they were gone.

The problem started when they came home.

Spending days in the saddle or on the road, with barely enough time to eat before you were off again after the next target, left little time for more personal matters. Rachel and Audrey made up for the lack of...intimacy...whenever they had a day or two off, and they rarely checked who was sitting in their kitchen when they stumbled through the door, already mostly out of their armor.

Today, though, Dietrich, Anastasia, and Nike had taken the Monstrosity out to the woods near Rabona to do some hunting, and Helen had said something about food before running out the door, so for once Deneve could enjoy her book in the peace of her own home. If she was lucky, Dietrich would stay with her partners tonight, giving Deneve more than enough time to finish her book.

With her book under her arm and a cup carefully balanced on the kettle of tea in her hand, the warrior settled down on her favorite mat beside the fire, her back pressed against the warm brick of the fireplace.

Half of the kettle was gone before a sharp curse tore Deneve away from a particularly tense battle scene. Normally she would have noticed anyone-especially her lover or their young protege-come in, but the climax of the book was fast approaching. Even watchful Deneve let her guard slip when a good book was in her grasp.

Slowly she let her Yoki spread over the house. It only took her a moment to identify the figure she sensed in the kitchen as Helen, although she wasn’t sure if it was the Yoki signature or the second, louder curse that gave it away. 

Helen felt her Yoki a split second before Deneve could draw it back in. “Hey, babe? Small problem!”

She felt a slight pulse in the forehead vein that she had named “22.”

One day.

One quiet day.

That’s all she wanted.

She just wanted. To finish. Her. Book.

Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away.

A calming sip of her tea later and she had found her place on the page.

_ He pivoted out of the way and narrowly avoided an ax blade in the throat. The weapon embedded itself deep into the door frame, the handle vibrating- _ “Shit fuck mother bitch DENEVE! SMALL PROBLEM IS NOT SO SMALL ANYMORE!”

22 pulsed so harshly that for a moment, Deneve thought the vein would pop.  _ I’m not closing my book. “What?”  _ By some small miracle, she managed to keep the anger from her voice.

Helen took a moment to answer. “Um. Kitchen might be on fire.”

_ I’m not getting up. She’s a big girl, she can handle it. _ “How did you manage to set the kitchen on fire?”

“Not on fire anymore!”  _ Thank the god of Rabona. _ “I was trying to make lunch.”

“So you set the kitchen on fire?”

“Not on purpose! I just added a bit of water so the noodles were covered.”

_ A bit of- oh for the love of fuck.  _ “Which jar did you use?”

There was a moment of silence. “The. The green one?”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“Probably because I used the blue jar, not the green.” 

For a moment, just a moment, Deneve considered closing her book.  _ No. No, if you have a free hand you’ll end up killing her, and despite yourself you do love her. Besides, you don’t want to explain to Dietrich where she went.  _ “...Helen. What’s in the blue jar.” It wasn’t a question.

“...Oil.” The response was as timid as Helen knew how to be. “Which is probably why the ramen is on fire.”

_ Is? _ “Is? As in currently burning?”

“Does that mean you don’t want some?” A mop of messy blonde hair peeked around the corner of the kitchen door, the bright grin Helen was infamous for turning into a perplexed frown. “What happened to your arm?”

“Arm wrestling with Galataea.” The stump had healed up to the elbow, and the bones of her forearm were starting to slowly knit themselves into existence. It would be back to full by nightfall, even if she didn’t exert more than a little bit of Yoki. She felt compelled to add “I lost.”

Helen’s head bobbed in a nod. “I see that. There’s blood on the floor.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

The lanky warrior let out a snort of a laugh, disappearing back into the kitchen. “True. I’m going to run down to the market and get some apples, since this ramen is toast. I can do some training with the soldiers if you want some alone time?”

“Hmm.” Deneve considered the idea for a moment. She could at least finish this chapter while Helen was at the market, and it had been a while since they had the house to themselves. “No, come home if you want.”

“Okay.” A gentle weight pressed against the top of her head as Helen left a kiss there. “Will you read to me when I get back?” The question was almost subdued. Of all the Ghosts, Deneve was the only one who knew Helen couldn’t read. She hadn’t been lucky enough to learn when she was still human, and the Organization never bothered to teach the warriors anything beyond combat. Deneve had offered to teach her, but Helen seemed to prefer being read to, especially since it was one of the few times she was allowed to cuddle with Deneve.

Despite herself, Deneve felt a small smile on the corner of her lips. “Of course, love.”

**Author's Note:**

> The picture in question can be found here: http://twinconstellations.tumblr.com/post/154685157488/a-little-drawing-for-twinconstellations
> 
> The little snippet of the book Deneve was reading is from "The Girl In The Steel Corset" by Kady Cross, a book that definitely wouldn't be found in the world of Claymore, but it was close by and I needed a quote.


End file.
